


The Love Story of the Fire Prince and the Water Tribe Warrior

by fandomgirl522



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Badass Katara (Avatar), Bisexual Katara (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Suki (Avatar), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Protective Sokka (Avatar), The timeline is different sorry, Zhao (Avatar) Is An Asshole, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, aang is still in the iceberg, except maybe Iroh, oh and zhao is a huge creep, yuetara, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:06:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25555552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgirl522/pseuds/fandomgirl522
Summary: Prince Zuko is still looking for the Avatar, but his plans get interrupted when he maybe accidentally falls in love with a certain water tribe boy named Sokka, who happens to need to hitch a ride with his sister Katara to get to the North Pole. They’re both a couple of teens who are a part of warring nations, but who’s to say it can’t work out?
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Yue (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was rising over the horizon, shining its golden rays across the ocean line and giving the sea a soft glow to it. It was beautiful. Peaceful. Anyone looking at the stunning view could feel a sudden sense of vibrancy and warmth.

However, this was not so for the 15 year old prince of the fire nation. He got up early every morning, at sunrise, to practice his fire bending. The remarkable view was now standard for him.

Two years of doing the same thing. Two years of sailing over the whole damn world searching for the avatar. The only thing keeping him from imploding from his frustration was his Uncle Iroh, and even his never ending wisdom and obsession with pai sho and tea were driving him closer to insanity.  
Just as he finished that thought, his uncle’s voice came from the doorway

“Good morning Prince Zuko. Beautiful sunrise today isn’t it?”

He gruffly replied

“Same as every morning Uncle.”

The older man walked up to his nephew and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

He smiled

“It is important to notice the little details that make things beautiful. You may see the sun rising each and every daybreak, but not all sun rises are the same. As long as you notice and admire what makes each sunrise different, you will begin to fully appreciate their loveliness each morning.”

Zuko groaned

“Thanks for the philosophy lesson Uncle, but I don’t see how that’s going to help my fire bending or my search for the avatar.”

Iroh chuckled and turned his head to face the rising sun

“Starting off the day with something to look forward to is very important for your mental wellbeing. Not only that, but the sun is your source of energy. It fuels your chi so you can create fire. It is very important to respect its beauty and power Prince Zuko, so you may become the best firebender you can possibly be.”

The teenager sighed deeply. There were points when even someone as stubborn as the prince admitted that he was defeated under his uncle’s knowledge.

“Can we please just start my lesson already?”

He heard his uncle sigh behind him

“Of course, Prince Zuko.”  
.........................................

From the forest, the sunrise was streaming through the trees and creating streaks of golden light. Golden light that a now-awakening-almost-fifteen-year old water tribe boy turned away from as it shone in his groggy blue eyes.

‘Just five more minutes’ he thought to himself.

Eventually he gave in to the sun’s light, as he had decided awhile ago that once its rays hit the forest, it was time to get up.

He hated sleeping in the forest. It was far too dark at night and he couldn’t hear the ocean from there. The sound of water always soothed his nerves when it was time to sleep.

But there was a whole fleet of fire navy ships passing by the shoreline for some damn reason the previous night, and he couldn’t risk having them get caught because they were careless enough to rest on the beach.

He turned over to face his sleeping sister, all bundled up in her water tribe sleeping bag, her eyes shut tight in a deep sleep.

She was the reason he was doing this. The reason he traveled from hell and back for the past six months from his home in the South Pole to reach the North Pole.

She was a water bender, his sister, and she believed she needed to learn how to properly use her abilities, considering the fire nation bastards took away any waterbenders from the South Pole. So he agreed to take her, after all he promised his dad that he’d protect her, and she was leaving whether he wanted her to or not. Plus maybe her freaky abilities could really help out their tribe, which was declining even further after all the men left to fight in the war.

The sun began to light up the forest further, and the boy placed a hand on the thirteen-year old girl’s shoulder, gently shaking her and whispering

“Katara, Katara come on the sun’s out. Time to wake up.”

She softly groaned, lifting her head up and opening one eye before slamming her head back down and grumbling.

He rolled his eyes, reaching over to yank at her long braid. While it was amusing, it also tended to get her to wake up. She shot up, despite her eyes still being swollen with sleep

“Sokka!”

The boy couldn’t help himself from giggling as she continued her sleepy glare at him. He shrugged his shoulders and stretched his arms back and forth, yawning through his words

“What? Early bird gets the worm.”  
..............................................................


	2. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko gets a visit from his favorite fire nation official, and Sokka and Katara are having a bit of a rough time on their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FORMATTING WAS SUCH A BITCH HERE OH MY GOD

The heat of the afternoon was beginning to hit the water as the sun hit its peak in the sky. The early summer heat along the earth kingdom western coast was bearable, Zuko learned. It was less like the suffocating humid heat of the fire nation capital and more like the comforting warmth of Ember Island. 

The Prince took a deep breath in, closing his eyes, and inhaled the salty air. 

_ He could feel the sand on his feet. The gentle breeze going through his hair. He could hear the giggling of his little sister and the soft voice of his mother. His father’s hand was light, and laid itself on his shoulder. He was happy. _

He was home.

The teenager was interrupted in his daydream by Lieutenant Jee yelling 

“Prince Zuko! There’s a fire navy ship up ahead, and it looks like a lot more too. I think they’re signaling for us to stop.”

The prince grumbled to himself as he had a sense for which asshole of the year would be on one of those ships.

Captain Zhao. 

He wanted desperately to simply command the lieutenant to keep the ship moving forward, but he knew better then to challenge a fleet. 

He groaned 

“Fine. Halt the ship!”

The ship came to a rather abrupt stop as the fleet began to approach.

His uncle came outside, probably from a game of pai sho. He walked up to stand beside his nephew 

“Why have we stopped Prince Zuko?”

The prince said nothing, he just lifted an arm to aggressively point a finger at the approaching fleet. Iroh stroked his beard and hummed with a smile on his face 

“It’s always pleasant to share a cup of tea with some wonderful new strangers.”

Zuko ground his teeth

“They’re not strangers. We both know thatZhao is probably on there and is probably already thinking of all sorts of ways to insult my honor.”

The older man placed a comforting hand on the teenager’s shoulder 

“Then do not engage. He only says such aggravating words because he wishes to get a rise out of you. You are the bigger man, my nephew. Prove it to him and then you will be the one who rises above.”

Zuko was infuriated at his uncle’s advice, slamming his fists down on the ship and growling 

“How can you expect me to be patient with that bastard? He has no respect for me whatsoever, so he doesn’t deserve mine!” 

Iroh reached a pleading arm out to his nephew 

“Please Prince Zuko, that is not what I was saying-“

The teen turned and walked away with his fists clenched before he let his uncle finish. 

Iroh sighed to himself. He was simply worried for the safety of his nephew, and he understood his rightfully placed hatred of Zhao. He only wanted for Zuko not to be harmed by the captain. Captain Zhao was a ruthless and cold-hearted man who would most definitely use Zuko’s hot-headed nature against him if the boy didn’t start being more careful around him. Even so, it was better for their own safety that they had good relations with the captain.

The prince stood with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face as the leading ship in the fleet was pulling up.

He had had many unpleasant experiences with Captain Zhao on the sea. Many a time the older man’s ship would be the one to administer the monthly inspections on Zuko’s boat. He remembered the first monthly inspection clearer then any of the others, back when he was a newly banished thirteen year old. He instinctively grazed his scar with his fingers as he recalled the memory.

_ The thick white bandage that had once covered his left eye had been removed just about two weeks ago, and while he hated the itchy covering , he now wished he could have kept it on.  _

_A large ugly red scar now covered the area around his eye, stretching over his entire cheek and reaching over the side of his face to his ear. His eyebrow there was also gone, probably permanently, and his eyelid was swollen almost completely shut. He could hardly see out of the eye, no matter how hard he tried to open it wider._

_The hearing in his left ear was also badly damaged, as all sound was slightly muted on that side._

_Needless to say, as a young teenager, the scar was something he was greatly self-conscious about. For that reason, he spent almost the entire first week without his bandage inside his room, the only person that he saw being his uncle._

_Now it was the end of the second week without the bandage, and he was walking openly on the deck of the ship and actively ignoring the stares of his fellow crewmen._

_He was forcing himself to become used to the judgmental looks of those around him. This scar wasn’t going anywhere for a long time, if ever._

_Then Captain Zhao’s ship turned up for a monthly inspection, and seeing that man only reminded him of his old life and everything he had left behind; His life when he had honor, his home, a face not covered by a hideous scar._

_His uncle was still sleeping, and the prince did not wish to wake him, so he greeted the captain on his own. As the older man walked onto the ship, he flashed Zuko his signature perfectly-fake smile._

_He bowed to the prince_

_“Prince Zuko, it is an honor to be in your presence again. I haven’t seen you since you left the palace crying. I do hope the sea has already toughened you up a bit.”_

_Zuko didn’t stop the sneer that crept onto his face as he growled in reply_

_“Well I’m glad to see you haven’t changed, you’re still an ass.”_

_Zhao merely chuckled in a way that enraged the teen_

_“Well I see that you’re already catching a sailor’s tongue.”_

_The prince huffed, barely containing his annoyance_

_“Just get on with whatever you’re doing.”_

_That same unsettling smile crept onto the captain’s face_

_“Of course my prince.”_

_He directed his_ men _onto the ship as they inspected it, leaving the captain and prince alone._

_Zuko felt his skin burn with shame as Zhao’s eyes fell on the burnt flesh of his face._

_The boy simply kept his eyes on the ground of the ship, although he still could feel eyes on his scar. Then, a hand cupped his chin, and lifted his head up._

_Zhao inspected the scar with morbid fascination. He spoke in an almost far-off voice_

_“Such a shame. You were always such a handsome boy.”_

_Zuko’s skin crawled, and he smacked the captain’s hand off his face as hard as he possibly could. He was clenching his teeth with so much anger he was sure he would crack a tooth or two._

_Just as he was about to spit a fiery insult back at the bastard, Zhao’s crew returned from their inspection._

_Zhao grinned at the furious boy_

_“I must take my leave now, Prince Zuko. Good luck on your hopeless search for the avatar. You’ll desperately need it.”_

_He bowed and returned to his own ship, leaving the prince alone in his rage._

_Pure anger turned into brimming tears, and he wiped them away so he could go and wake up his uncle._

_So he could fight another day._

He took his fingers off of his scar as he settled himself back into the present. He was older now, stronger and more experienced with Zhao’s verbal assassinations. 

He took a steady breath in, letting a puff of fire escape his mouth as he breathed out. 

A ramp from the other ship connected the two ships together, and Zuko made eye contact with the unfortunately familiar man now walking towards him. 

The teen never broke the eye contact, insisting that he would not look weak in front of him. He straightened his back and forced his voice to be firm and steady as the older man made his way onto his ship 

“Captain Zhao. I’m assuming you’re here for a routine inspection?” 

His uncle walked up beside his nephew as Zhao stiffly bowed, a smile on his face which meant he had something insulting to say 

“Actually Prince Zuko, it’s  commander now. ”

The boy couldn’t help widening his eyes in shock. His uncle had a surprised expression as well. 

‘ _The damn son of a bitch was moving up.’_

He couldn’t find the words to respond, but thankfully his uncle did with a smile on his face 

“Well congratulations Commander! I hope you would join us for some tea this lovely afternoon to celebrate.”

Zuko shot his uncle a fire filled glare, his teeth clenched as he hissed 

“Uncle!”

Zhao ignored the prince, and smiled at the old man 

“I would love to General Iroh.”

Zuko shot Zhao a hate filled glare as he walked further onto the ship, to which the commander responded with a bone-chilling grin. 

The older men then walked side by side to go inside the ship, with a furious and reluctant prince following shortly behind. 

............................................................

The summer of the earth kingdom was not something the two water tribe siblings were used to. The summer at the South Pole was cool and moderate compared to what felt like being cooked alive in the earth kingdom during summer.

Sokka and Katara had been traveling by a canoe that was gifted to them by their Gran Gran, so the sun beat down onto them. 

Unfortunately for him, it was Sokka’s turn to row the canoe during the afternoon heat. 

Sweat dripped from his forehead and it covered most of his body, causing his clothing to stick to him. He stopped rowing for a moment to wipe his brow. Meanwhile, his sister was practicing the basic movements for water bending from the waterbending scroll they had discovered about 3 months ago. 

Her arms moved gracefully as she lifted a steam of water and glided it through the air before gently dropping it back into the water. 

Sokka never wanted to admit it, but being a waterbender must be pretty damn cool. 

He caught his breath and continued to row down the coastline, listening to nothing but the ocean move until Katara cleared her throat as she pulled out their map

“It looks like we’re gonna be coming up to a village soon—Makapu Village—I think we should stop there. I’ve read about it a bit and it sounds like a fun little place.” 

Sokka rolled his eyes 

“It doesn’t matter if it’s fun or not, we just need to pass on through like we always do.”

He felt his sister’s small hand on his shoulder. She had that soft look in her eyes that made him always give in. She sighed 

“Sokka, I want you to know how grateful I am that you’re going with me to the North Pole, it means more to me then I let on. But please, let’s stop at this town for a bit. Tomorrow is your birthday and I want you to be able to have some fun for once. Just lighten up this once, please?” 

He stopped rowing for a moment, contemplating what she said. His features softened as he replied 

“Ok ok fine. But they better have some good food for me to eat!” 

A large smile graced Katara’s features as she pulled him into a hug 

“Oh Sokka, I promise you won’t regret it!”

He returned the hug, forgetting that he was sweating like a madman. Katara quickly picked up on this, and pulled away, her nose scrunched.

“Spirits Sokka, you really need a shower.”

He scoffed in reply 

“Yeah I know. Don’t act like you smell like roses and daises all the time.”

She placed her hands on her hips, glaring at her brother as she prepared to angrily respond, but she stopped herself when she noticed his face turning serious.

“Sokka what is-“

Katara turned to see what he was looking at, and even she couldn’t fathom what exactly it was, but it was big—and it was most definitely alive. It reached its head out of the water and towered over them, its now prevalent gills glinting in the sun.

‘ _A sea serpent_ ’  Katara realized.

Sokka reached for his boomerang and quickly chucked it at the creature, striking it directly on its head. It lost its balance for a moment, before screeching and going down to strike their boat.

In a flash, Sokka shoved Katara and himself out of the boat as the serpent crushed it with its mouth.

They both came back up to the surface, gasping as they got air. The creature unfortunately saw their resurgence and went directly at them to strike again.

Just when it seemed to be the end, Katara grabbed Sokka, and used her waterbending to push against the water, shooting the both of them backwards with incredible force. 

The force was great enough to push them both all the way back to the beach, where they were thrown against the sand.

The sea serpent seemed to have changed its mind, as it dove back into the water, swimming back into the depths of the ocean. 

The siblings laid on the sand for a moment longer, out of breath. Sokka eventually pushed himself up, crawling over to his sister

“Are you ok Katara?”

She too sat up, nodding. 

“What about you?”

He itched his head before looking back at what now remained of their canoe. Just a couple planks of floating wood.  _Great_ .

He sighed deeply, before his features lightened up

“I’m fine. That was some insane waterbending though! I suppose that scroll did have some use after all.”

She giggled

“Yeah. I didn’t even know I could do that. It was just kind of in the moment.”

There was a comfortable silence for a few moments as they caught their breath, eventually standing up when they finished. 

Katara broke the silence 

“Well I only managed to be able to save my scroll. I’m afraid everything else was lost.”

Sokka stared at the boomerang that was somehow still in his hand. He looked back at his sister

“Do you at least remember how to get to Makapu village?”

She thought for a moment

“Yes actually. We just need to walk along the coast for about five miles and then go west for a bit. It’s hard to miss, from what I saw it was by a giant volcano.”

He stretched his legs for a moment, then popped his neck 

“Well then, let’s get going.”

.................................................................

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s actually really hard for me to characterize Sokka and Katara so I kinda was going for their season one dynamic cuz it felt like it made sense?? Writing asshole!zhao is fun as hell haha. Feel free to comment, I’d love to hear from you guys :))


	3. Crossroads Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Zuko deals with an arrogant commander, Sokka and Katara finally make it to Makapu Village.

Zuko stared angrily into his cup of tea as he listened to his uncle and the  commander  speak. 

God he was still mad as hell that somehow Zhao was climbing up the ladder of power. He was a goddamn bastard who only got where he was through manipulation and deceit. He did not deserve the honor to hold that title in his nation’s navy. 

His brooding was interrupted by the commander’s voice being directed at him.

He rested his chin on his hand as he grumbled.

“I don’t believe I heard what you said  _ commander _ .”

The title rolled off his tongue with such distain that he was sure both Zhao and his uncle must have recognized it. Instead, Zhao grinned at the boy before turning to the old man beside him.

“General Iroh, may I please speak to the Prince alone? I have important business to discuss that is rather private.”

His uncle replied with a suspicious tone. 

“Commander Zhao, I do not see why that is necessary.”

As much as Zuko did not want to be alone with the older man, he refused to let Zhao see him as too weak to speak to him on his own. After all, he wasn’t a child anymore. He hadn’t been for quite some time.

The prince gripped the cup of tea in front of him, and spoke tightly 

“I’ll be  _fine_ Uncle. I can take care of myself.”

Iroh continued to look at him worriedly, pleading with the boy through his eyes. When his nephew’s stubborn stare persisted, however, he merely sighed.

“As you wish, Prince Zuko.”

He got up and nodded respectfully at the commander, before walking out the door. He was going to make sure to keep close outside. Zhao would not lay a hand on the boy for as long as Iroh was breathing.

Back inside, the young prince continued to stare into his now cold tea. He truly cared little for what Zhao had to say. He was just hoping it was quick. 

He finally lifted his eyes to see the commander staring very intently at him.

The teenager felt a slight chill run down his spine as he attempted to decipher what it was that he saw in the man’s eyes.

Before he could, the older man broke eye contact, standing up and placing his hands behind his back. Zuko shook his head as he pushed his discomfort down. 

The commander then walked over to the small window and stared at the setting sun. The prince couldn’t deny the sunset tonight was astounding, although the man standing in front of it was souring his view. 

The older man finally hummed, causing the teenager to turn his attentions to him.

“You know Prince Zuko, from what I’ve observed your search for the avatar hasn’t gotten very far.”

The young prince rolled his eyes and scoffed in reply.

“ _Very_ original Zhao. Got anything else to say for once?”

The commander thinly hid his displeasure at the teen’s sarcasm under a smile. The boy certainly hasn’t lost his fiery attitude. Whether Zhao liked that or not, he couldn’t decide. 

He dug his fingers into his palm as he approached the prince.

“I would hold your tongue Prince Zuko. I would hate to report to your father that his only son has already lost all his royal manners.”

Zuko’s face dropped at the mention of his father. He bit his lip hard to stop himself from shooting an insult back at the jackass. 

‘ _ Just get through it and stay quiet and he’ll eventually leave.’ _

The older man noticed the prince’s submission and continued.

“Anyways, that’s not what I was here for. I am here to make a deal with you.”

Zuko shot him a glare.

“I’m not interested in making deals with you.”

Zhao’s eyes glinted with malice.

“If I were you, Prince Zuko, I would open up your options. That is, unless you don’t actually wish to return to the Fire Nation.”

‘ _What?’_

The prince shook his head in confusion and curiosity.

“What?”

Instead of responding, the commander sat down beside the teenager and poured himself some more tea, reveling in the obvious impatience of the boy next to him. 

The prince’s eyebrows were furrowed as always, and there was a simmering anger shining in his golden eyes. If Zhao didn’t tell him soon what he met by his words, Zuko was sure he would burn a hole right through that stupid face of his. 

Zhao sipped some of his tea before finally clearing his throat.

“I have been having discussions with the Fire Lord about a possible invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. Of course, since I am not an admiral, I do not yet have the authorization to lead such an excursion.”

The older man placed his tea cup down and continued.

“However, in this situation I am greatly patient, and I sense another promotion in the near future. Once that happens, I can have the authority to lead however many ships I wish to the North Pole. I want  _you_ and  your  ship to be among that fleet, Prince Zuko.”

‘ _He wanted what?_ ’

The young prince couldn’t hide the utter shock he was feeling, and his mouth fell agape. 

Zhao wanted him to help him....on an invasion?

For once, Zuko was at a complete loss for words.

He would certainly gain much credibility if he did join the attack force. Perhaps then the fire nation navy would finally have some respect for their crown prince.

But, he had to find the avatar if he wanted to return home. That was his mission. To restore his honor and be welcomed back by his father.

He swallowed hard and clenched his fists.

“I already have a mission, Zhao. I still need to find the avatar so I can take back my throne and be able to return to the Fire Nation. I don’t have time for side quests to feed your ego.”

The commander chuckled and leaned in closer. The body warmth of the other firebender made Zuko stiffen in discomfort. He had never been in this close proximity to Zhao, and he could practically feel the hostility radiating off the man’s skin. However, the teen kept a straight face despite being terrifically uncomfortable. 

Zhao stared deep into the prince’s eyes as he spoke in a lowered voice.

“If your father knew that you aided me in finally putting an end to the Water Tribe civilization, he would be more then thrilled. So thrilled perhaps, he may even restore your honor and throne.”

The commander’s tone was entrancing, and the prince couldn’t help himself from wanting to believe his words. He wanted to believe his father was willing to let him  finally come home .  He wanted to believe his father maybe—just maybe, actually wanted him. 

He broke out of his fantasy when he felt the warmth of the commander’s leg pressed against his own. The older man’s warmth was unbearably hot, making Zuko’s stomach clench uncomfortably. The teenager scooted over abruptly to create some space between the two firebenders. Whether it was anger or.....disappointment Zuko saw in Zhao’s eyes, he didn’t care. At least he finally felt he had some breathing room to think clearly again. 

“If you cannot guarantee my father will lift my banishment by assisting you on your little invasion, then I am not interested.”

The older man frowned at the reply and sighed obnoxiously, shaking his head.

“My offer is as good as it’s going to get, Prince Zuko. The avatar is a hopeless excursion, at least you actually have a chance of retrieving the throne by joining my fleet. Or perhaps you want that birthright to be given to Princess Azula?”

Zuko clenched his teeth at the mention of his younger sister. 

“Why do  you  care anyways Zhao?”

The commander smiled at the prince. Whatever it was that was gleaming in the older man’s eyes before was quite apparent once again.

“Because I believe partnerships are important. You tend to get what you want at the end of the day if you understand that.”

He stood up after that statement, returning his hands to the place behind his back. The prince looked up at him with frustration and slight confusion. He couldn’t tell if those words were sincere or not, but considering they came from Zhao’s mouth, it was probably the latter.

Zhao spoke once again as he walked towards the door.

“My offer still stands, Prince Zuko. My fleet and I are going to the north eastern front of the Earth Kingdom to provide reinforcements, so you and I will be on similar courses until we reach the north. You can continue your search for the avatar there as planned and I will be on my way.”

He turned to face the teenager as he opened the door.

“Once I do get promoted however, I’ll return to the Fire Nation and begin plans for the invasion. You can join me, or you can sail around the world hopelessly on this pathetic ship of yours. The choice is yours.”

And with that, he shut the door, leaving the prince alone to his thoughts.

..........................

The sunset was now a low glow in the horizon, and the darkness of dusk was settling on the coast slowly. 

The two water tribe siblings were still walking along the beach, both equally exhausted. Sokka sighed loudly.

“Please tell me we’re almost there.”

Katara glanced at the small hill in front of them, lifting her eyes further up to notice the top of a volcano. A glint of hope returning to her blue eyes.

“Look! The volcano is right there! We just have to get up this hill and we’re there!”

The duo had a sudden burst of energy and began scrambling up the hill, eventually reaching the top of it. From there, the small town was visible. Sokka exclaimed.

“I’ve never been so happy to see civilization!”

Soon enough, the two young teenagers made their way into the town. 

The town was small, but it had a sort of unique charm to it. Perhaps it was the giant volcano right behind it or the friendly villagers, who smiled at the new water tribe strangers as they passed. One older woman came up to the siblings as they walked through the streets.

“Welcome to Makapu! I am the fortune teller of this town. It is a pleasure to meet new friends.”

While Katara smiled and thanked the woman for her kind welcome, Sokka glared at her with suspicion.

“Fortuneteller?”

The woman turned to face him, an ever shrinking friendly smile on her face.

“Yes, I can tell people’s future and their destiny. Many inhabitants of this town greatly admire me.”

Katara perked up eagerly.

“Really? That’s amazing!”

Just as the ‘fortuneteller’ seemed about ready to offer to read the girl’s future, Sokka grabbed Katara’s hand and began walking away.

“Yeah yeah. That’s all a bunch of bullshit to me. Like anyone can read the future.”

Katara ripped her hand away and placed her hands on her hips.

“Sokka be nice. Not everyone is a hopeless pessimist like you. Don’t be so boring.”

He crossed his arms and scoffed.

“I am not boring. I’m just realistic. Now come on, I’m starving and I want to get something to eat.”

The younger girl rolled her eyes, then waved goodbye to the fortuneteller and followed her brother. 

“You know Sokka, not everyone is going to think the same as you. Some people’s beliefs are less...well....practical as yours.”

Sokka rolled his eyes.

“Well they can think what they want, even if it is stupid. No one can tell the future. It’s not scientifically possible.”

Apparently he had said that last sentence a bit too loud, because now many of the townsfolk in the streets were glaring at the siblings. Katara caught on quickly and whispered to her brother.

“You might want to quiet down. The last thing we want is to be run out of a town because of your big mouth.”

The boy grumbled as they approached what looked like a good place to eat. The aroma of flavorful meat cooking filled Sokka’s nostrils and made his stomach ache. He practically ran to the open window of the small joint.

“Hey excuse me! Can I get two meals for me and my sister?”

The man cooking the food turned around and looked at the teenager deeply.

“Aren’t you two the teenagers that just came in today?”

“Yes.”

The man’s stare turned more harsh, and he turned back around. His voice now came from the back of the restaurant.

“So you’re the ones who don’t respect the fortuneteller. Trust me, word travels fast.”

Sokka looked back at his sister in surprise, stuttering in reply.

“Is...is there a problem with that?”

The man continued to look at them angrily, crossing his arms.

“Well what would you like to eat?”

The boy reached into his bag to drop a few water tribe coins onto the window shill.

“Whatever we can get with that.”

The man’s gaze left the duo and fell onto the pieces before him. He grumbled and pushed the currency back to the teenager.

“There’s nothing here you can get here with that. Or anything in Makapu with that. We don’t take that currency.”

There was a sense of smugness in the man’s voice that made Sokka want to plant a fist into his face. He slapped both his hands down onto the window shill.

“What do you mean? Every other earth kingdom village we’ve been to accepts this currency. Why don’t—“

He was cut off when the man closed his windows in his face.

Sokka scoffed and kicked dirt at the building.

“Well screw you too asshole!”

Katara put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, I’m sure we’ll find someplace else to eat.”

He pushed her hand off and put his hand back into his bag.

“Well news apparently travels fast. I don’t think we’re getting anything to eat here.”

He pulled his boomerang and his sister looked at him questionably.

“I’m gonna try and get us some grub from the woods.”

“Sokka I don’t think that’s very—“

He was marching off to the woods surrounding the village before she could even finish.

The girl decided against chasing after him, and simply sat down at a nearby table by herself.

After what seemed like a few minutes of utter boredom, an older voice, a kind voice, broke her out of her moping.

“May I sit here?”

She took her head out from where it was placed on-top of her arms on the table and nodded, the darkness preventing her from really seeing who she was responding to.

The older man had a friendly face and a warm smile, and as he sat down across from her, she was able to see him a bit clearer.

He had grey hair and a topknot on his head. Red outlined his attire, and he was placing a plate of food down on the table.

Red.

He was fire nation.

A sense of panic arose inside her as she came to her conclusion. He was fire nation, and it was very clear she was from one of the water tribes.

What if he could tell she was a water bender? To add to that, a water bender from the southern water tribe, to which his nation believed they had wiped out.

At this point, her distress was clear on her face, and the old man noticed this.

“You seem upset. Is everything alright?”

She nodded, trying to think of a quick way to leave. He smiled back at her and took a bite of his meal.

“Well then, my name is Iroh. If I may ask, what is yours?”

Her hands were now shaky and she was just about ready to jump out of her seat, until he pushed his plate towards her.

“It’s alright if you do not wish to share that with me. But you do seem hungry, so please have some of my food.”

She was surprised by his kindness, and her mouth watered at the sight of food. Oddly enough, there seemed to be no malice present with the old man, so she reached out and picked up a fried fish chip. 

Her stomach seemed happy to finally have some food in it, so she began to eat more from the plate, relishing in the feeling of her hunger dissipating.

She looked up quietly, feeling quiet embarrassed that she hadn’t said anything yet to the stranger.

“My name is Katara.”

He bowed his head respectfully at the girl.

“It is nice to meet you Katara.”

..........................................

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like next chapter Zuko and Sokka are finally going to meet! I was going to do their meeting this chapter but I felt like it was long enough. Hope you guys are enjoying, leave a comment below if you are :)


	4. An Unexpected Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Sokka finally meet, but not under the greatest circumstances. Ultimately, Sokka must make an important decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah these two finally meet 😎

A cool breeze swept through the forest, running softly against the water tribe boy’s face.

It was ridiculous. The stupid townsfolk were willing to let two already tired as hell teenagers probably starve because he had made one comment about their precious fortuneteller. 

“Stupid town. Stupid villagers. Stupid forest” Sokka grumbled to himself as he clutched his boomerang. 

His stomach was grumbling and he swears he’s going insane with hunger. Honestly anything looked like food now.

Suddenly, he finally noticed a silhouette—something moving.

His mouth watered and he squeezed his weapon harder in his hand. 

In one swift movement, his boomerang was flying, aimed at the dark shadow. 

Just as the projectile was about to hit its target, the silhouette turned. He had missed, and in a flash—

Thump!

The teenager was being pinned down to the ground, a warm and somehow gracefully dense weight pressing against him. He tried to push the creature off, but his wrist were pinned to the ground by two hands gripping them.

‘ _A person?’_

He looked up to see a pair of golden eyes, the prettiest eyes he had ever seen, staring down at him angrily. 

A softly gruff voice growled at him.

“Who are you? Why are you attacking me?”

The dark was still obscuring Sokka’s view as he tried to decipher who was on top of him. He finally stuttered out.

“I...I thought y...you were an animal. I was just tryna get something...to eat.”

The fiery eyes squinted back at him, and the harsh voice now spoke through gritted teeth.

“That sounds like a load of shit to me.  Tell  me who you are.”

Instead of responding, the water tribe teen rammed a knee into the gut above him, wrapped his legs around the body and rolled, slamming the stranger onto his back. Now it was Sokka’s turn to stare down at a face. 

The moonlight finally allowed him to see who he had entrapped, and he was surprised to see a youthful face, someone who looked his own age. The gold in the boy’s eyes was gleaming now, and it was then that he noticed the giant scar that spanned over half of the poor guy’s face. 

A sudden wave of guilt rushed over Sokka. He after all, did attack this dude first. He probably would have flipped out too if someone tried to chuck a weapon at him from behind.

He slowly moved off the other teenager, who had looked like he was about to murder him if he did it a moment later.

He scratched his head as he stared back at the now sitting up figure.

“I wasn’t lying. I truly didn’t mean to attack you. I’m Sokka.”

He extended a hand, to which the golden eyed individual looked at suspiciously. Instead of grabbing it, the other boy stood up on his own, grumbling.

“Whatever.”

Sokka scoffed at the teen’s rudeness. 

“Can you at least tell me your name?”

The teenager didn’t even turn to face him, but Sokka could see his fists were clenched. He also could have sworn he felt the area surrounding him heat up. The other teen grumbled back at him once again, this time with more annoyance.

“I don’t need to tell you anything  _ peasant _ .”

Before he had any time to react to the insult, Sokka instead watched as the mysterious teenager marched back into the woods in the direction of the village.

‘ _ Peasant?! Who’s he calling a peasant’ _ Sokka thought to himself angrily. Just who did this random boy think he was?

His stomach grumbled once again. He was so frustrated with his interaction with the stranger that he almost completely forgot why he was in the woods in the first place.

He pushed the golden eyed stranger to the back of his mind as best he could before continuing his search for food. 

...........................................

The fire nation prince practically stomped into Makapu village after his encounter with the strange teenager in the woods. Zuko was simply just trying to enjoy some peace and quiet by himself, but for some reason some idiot with brilliantly blue eyes had to throw a  boomerang at the back of his head. 

The situation would have been almost comedic if he has a sense of humor. Unfortunately for the young firebender, he did not. 

The prince entered the village and searched for his uncle, whom he had left to get dinner by himself. He would have joined him if he had an appetite, but Zhao’s visit had spoiled it. He tried to shake off the memory of Zhao’s uncomfortable body heat lingering next to him, and his eyes boring into his soul. He hated everything about that man, and he especially did now because he _wanted_ to accept the offer he had presented to him. Of course he wanted to take the more reasonable and realistic way to getting his throne back, but his honor also held him back from ever working with the admiral. The asshole had done enough to tamper any future cooperation with the prince.

Eventually, Zuko finally spotted his uncle sitting at a table eating his dinner, but he was accompanied by what looked like a young girl. How his uncle could be so social with everyone he met, the prince would never know. 

“Uncle! I’ve been looking all over for you” the teenager shouted.

The older man turned around and smiled at his upcoming nephew.

“Prince Zuko! Come, sit down and enjoy a meal with us.”

He crossed his arms as he stood in front of the table, his glare setting itself on the young girl that was now staring at him wide eyed. Dark hair, brown skin, blue eyes. She had to be from the water tribe. She straightened her back and turned back to face Iroh.

“I’m guessing this is the nephew that you told me about.”

Iroh chuckled and placed a hand on the prince’s shoulder.

“Yes Katara, this is Prince Zuko.”

The teenager shook his uncle’s hand off and scowled.

“Glad to see you’re talking about me behind my back to water tribe peasants  _ uncle _ .”

The younger girl scoffed and spat back.

“Peasant? Well you look awfully unroyal to be a prince.”

The prince saw red, and almost considered chucking a fireball in the brat’s face until his uncle stood up in front of him. His eyes were calm, at least compared to the fiery ones of the younger boy. 

“Nephew, remember to control your temper.”

The teenager clenched his teeth and ground them together, then took a deep breath out, letting steam loose through his nostrils as he did so. 

Iroh clamped his hands together, and leaned his head in Katara’s direction.

“Now that you’ve cooled off, I’d like to properly introduce you to Katara. She and her brother have traveled all the way from the South Pole!”

The teenager didn’t say anything, he just nodded at the girl with a look of disinterest prevalent on his face. His uncle continued.

“Now their one mode of transport was destroyed earlier today, and they need a way to get to the North Pole.”

The prince rolled his eyes “And?”

The girl and the older man made eye contact as he finished his thought.

“Since we are low on staff, after Eiji and Ling left, I think we have room for two more people on our ship. What do you say to a couple of more shipmates?”

Zuko blinked a couple of times, anger and confusion burning hot in his chest. His uncle couldn’t be this stupid, could he? 

He pointed aggressively at Katara.

“Uncle, she’s water tribe! We can’t have her and whoever this brother of hers is running all about my ship. I won’t allow it!”

The girl finally stood up, and her face was scrunched with anger.

“I am willing to put aside the fact that you’re Fire Nation because me and my brother are desperate. Even after they destroyed my home. Even after they _murdered_ my mother.” 

His hard exterior softened at her last statement, and he noticed her hand immediately grasping the necklace around her neck. It must have been owned by her mother. 

It must be the last thing she has to remember her by. 

He suddenly didn’t feel so angry at the water tribe girl, but also didn’t want to concede to the issue just yet.

“How do I know that you and your brother won’t betray us? How can we possibly trust either of you, especially considering you already have such a distain for the nation me and my ship belong to?”

She responded with her arms crossed.

“Well for one I know you guys don’t really belong to the fire nation. I did spend some time speaking with your uncle and your ship isn’t very friendly with the rest of the fire nation. Me and my brother have no purpose in harming you guys if you have no purpose in harming us.”

The prince thought again for a moment. He couldn’t necessarily rebut her refutes because every point she had made was valid. He could just be a dick like usual and say no without reason, but something about the revelation about her mother made his heart ache with its sense of familiarity. He sighed gruffly.

“If you are willing to do the work below deck, which is cleaning the head, the work that no grown man is willing to do, then fine, whatever, you can come on our ship.” 

Her eyes brightened a bit, and she formed a small smile. She reached her hand out to the prince, intending for him to shake it.

“So.....deal?”

He grimaced at the suggestion of physical contact, so he simply nodded his head in agreement. 

She slowly lowered her hand and smiled broadly. It wasn’t at him however, it was directed at his uncle.

“Well then, I’ll go get my brother and tell him!”

A voice behind the trio spoke from behind them, and it sounded like the person was nearing them quickly.

“Tell me about what?”

Zuko immediately recognized the voice.

‘ _The boy from the woods_. ’

He turned around to face the other approaching teen, and both their faces were as shocked as they were angry.

“You!”

The firebender clenched his jaw as the other teenager stopped right in front of him. Blue stared into gold as they locked eyes.

Of course _this_ had to be Katara’s brother. Because the universe loved him.

The water tribe teen eyed the prince’s attire, taking note of the red outlining his armor. He practically growled at Zuko.

“I should have known you were fire nation.”

Heat rose to the prince’s face, but before he had time to reply, the other teen pushed past him and grabbed his sister’s arm. 

“Come on Katara, we’re getting out of here.”

The girl ripped her arm away and pleaded with her brother.

“Sokka no! They’re gonna help us get to the Northern water tribe.”

His mouth gaped open, and his eyes widened. He threw his hands up as he practically screamed out.

“ARE YOU CRAZY? THEY’RE FIRE NATION!”

The prince scoffed sarcastically.

“Oh yes we’re _so_ horrible . Says the guy who randomly attacked me in the woods.”

Sokka turned his fury back to the firebender and threw his hands up once more and groaned in a exaggerated manner.

“Oh spirits for the last time I didn’t mean to attack you! And I shouldn’t even have to answer to you.” 

As Zuko rolled his eyes, Iroh gave the water tribe teenager a good natured smile.

“This all sounds like a bunch of miscommunication. Please, sit down and enjoy a meal with us.”

Sokka snorted. He couldn’t believe this man from the  _fire nation_ was trying to convince him to eat with him. Like they were friends. It didn’t matter that his face was kind and warm, his nation had taken everything from him and he wasn’t about to let them take away his sister too. 

He snarled at the firebenders.

“No thank you. Now if you don’t mind, me and my sister are going to go now.”

“Sokka wait-“

He raised his tone once again, his blue eyes gleaming with frustration.

“Katara I’m not backing down on this! I have one job and that’s to protect you, not let you run off with some...some colonizing assholes.”

Iroh and Zuko watched as the siblings continued to argue, not sure if they were supposed to jump in or not. The prince did feel himself clench at the insult hurled at him however.

Katara yelled back in her brother’s face.

“Look, I don’t like it either! But I am trying to be adaptive, because that is how we are going to make it to the North Pole without dying! And the way to fix that problem is right in front of us! So  _please_ Sokka, please try and forget they’re fire nation, because I am going with them with or without you, and I really don’t want it to be without you.”

The boy glared into the younger girl’s stubborn eyes, wanting so desperately to simply leave and walk the whole damn way to the northern water tribe and leave these stupid guys behind but-

—But he couldn’t. It was like when she wanted to begin this journey all those months ago. She was a force to be reckoned with, and he couldn’t stop her from going her own path. The only thing he could do was go along with her to ensure her safety. Because that is exactly what he promised his dad he would do. 

His eyes darted from Katara to the prince, who was scowling, then back to her. He couldn’t believe he was doing this as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Well of course I’m not letting you get on a ship alone with these jerks. But I’m not doing because I like it or anything!”

The anger in his sister’s face faded, and she pulled her brother into a tight hug. She whispered to him.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

He returned the hug and glared once more into the golden eyes of the prince over her shoulder. 

The firebender looked away, almost embarrassed that he was looking at the water tribe peasant before he had turned his glare towards him during his hug with his sister. His cheeks turned slightly pink until he forced his body heat away from his face. 

The siblings finished their hug, and Sokka made a face of mock happiness directed at the prince. 

“Looks like you’re stuck with me, jerkbender.”

Zuko’s hands nearly burst into flames, but decided against producing any fire, as it would probably give the other boy another tasteless insult to throw back at him. Instead, he got nearly inches from his faceand spoke gruffly.

“Well you’ll be happy to know you get to clean the literal shit on our ship, courtesy of your sister’s agreement.”

Sokka glowered in return, ignoring the almost pleasant smokey and cinnamon-like scent coming off of the other teen. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t broken eye contact with him, but his thought was short lived when Iroh cleared his throat. 

“Well, you and Katara may do whatever it is you please for the rest of the night, but we usually leave port at dawn, so meet us there by then?”

Both siblings nodded, and the prince merely scoffed and walked away, his uncle following behind him. Before he did however, he bowed slightly to the teens.

“I look forward to seeing you both in the morning. Please rest well.”

Sokka nodded rather curtly, while Katara beamed with gratitude. 

“Thank you, Iroh.”

The older man gave the duo a warm smile,bowing his head once again and turning to follow his nephew. 

After he left, the older boy dragged his hands down his face, rubbing his eyes with irritation.

“Ughhh. I cannot believe you got us jobs as janitors for the fire nation.”

She simply shrugged her shoulders as a broad and mockingly innocent smile graced her features.

....................................

That night both the prince and the water tribe boy stared up at a starry sky, wondering what exactly the future held for the both of them. Neither of them believed anything good could come from having one another on the same ship, but what did they know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God did I mention I’m a bitch for the enemies to lovers trope? Also school sucks I’m literally losing my mind :(( Leave a comment down below tho if u liked the chapter!


	5. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just Katara and Sokka tryna get settled into Zuko’s ship and Sokka and Zuko beefing (with tension ;)

The water tribe siblings rubbed the tiredness out of their eyes as the sun laid its glow on their faces. While it indeed was a lovely morning, Sokka found himself frowning. As he did so, he stared, while lying flat on his back, at the gold streaked sky, wondering with frustration what situation his sister had placed them both into. 

He had apologized to that bastard in the forest. That  _ fire nation boy _ .

Heat rose to his cheeks as he thought of how he had thought the other teenager’s eyes were the prettiest pair he had ever seen. Now he was simply embarrassed and furious with himself. 

Katara sat up and yawned, then turned to look down at her brother who was still wearing a scowl on his face. 

“You ok?” She asked with concern. 

He rolled back onto his side, grumbling.

“I’m  _ fine _ .” 

She smiled broadly and enthusiastically placed her hands on his shoulders and shook.

“Perfect. Because you know what today is?”

“What?”

“Your birthday!”

His blue eyes widened for a moment, then he turned away.

He had been waiting for this day to come for some time. He wasn’t sure why, but the idea of turning fifteen made him feel so much more mature, and all he wanted was to feel like a man rather then a boy. To be a  _ warrior _ . 

But now their whole situation with the fire nation folk killed his mood, and he certainly did not feel like celebrating anymore. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he mumbled “I already know today isn’t going to be all that great.”

She pursed her lips at his comment. She knew how much Sokka looked forward to his birthday, so she certainly didn’t want him to feel upset on this meaningful day. 

“Don’t be like that Sokka. The prince and his uncle aren’t the worst fire nation people we’ve encountered.”

He turned back to face her, shock evident on his face. 

“Prince?!”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“You didn’t know he was a prince?”

He sat up and ran a hand through his dark hair. 

_ Royalty _ .

He had accidentally attacked literal  _royalty_ . 

The teenager groaned in frustration and slapped a hand on his face.

“What’s a Fire Nation prince doing wandering around the forests of the earth kingdom?” He asked curtly. 

She responded as she brushed her unbraided hair.

“I can’t say what for exactly, but from what I remember his uncle telling me, he was banished from the fire nation.”

Sokka perked up once again with surprise, eventually settling with his head placed on his upright arm. 

“He must have done something pretty bad for the fire lord to not even want him home,” he replied grimly.

She shrugged her shoulders and braided her hair once again, eventually rolling up her limited belongings and placing them in her bag.

“Who knows. All I do know is that we need to get going or we’re going to be ditched by our one way ticket to the North Pole.”

He groaned in an exaggerated manner before rolling off the thin blanket he had slept on. Boy did he miss their sleeping bags. Too bad the sea serpent had destroyed them along with the rest of their stuff. 

He pulled his hair into his usual wolf tail look, then he repeated Katara by gathering his things.

The teenager sighed as he finished, then extended a hand directed at the coast. 

“Shall we get going?”

..................................................

Iroh and Zuko were already up with the sun as usual, so they waited for the two water tribe teens to eventually show up.

The prince wanted to simply leave without them, considering they were a few minutes late, but his uncle insisted that they made a deal that they shouldn’t break. 

Eventually the siblings emerged from the woods, looking rather exhausted. 

“Took you long enough,” Zuko shouted, a hint of resentment and impatience prevalent in his tone.

Katara scoffed loudly and Sokka glared up at the firebender, who had his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Sorry  _your highness_ ,” the water tribe boy said sarcastically, “we wouldn’t want to keep you waiting.”

The prince met his glare, and Katara’s glance shifted between the two boys, taking in the tension. She nudged her brother, who relented.

Iroh cleared his throat to break the rather awkward silence. 

“Well...welcome aboard our ship!” 

Zuko snorted and turned away to go back inside the ship, but his uncle stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“Prince Zuko. You should introduce yourself,” Iroh said quieter then his previous statement. 

The firebender glared at the older man, and was going to simply growl and walk away, but personally the prince didn’t enjoy disobeying his uncle. Sometimes it was easier to just comply and get it over with. So he groaned and threw his hands up at the siblings.

“My name is Prince Zuko,” he gritted, “now get on my ship _now_ or we’re leaving without you.”

The siblings glanced at one enough before warily walking onto the metal monstrosity before them.

Never in a million years did Sokka ever think he would be going onboard a fire nation ship willingly. Especially not one owned by a prince. A prince who was currently burning his glare into his skull. It was almost unsettling how the gold in his eyes practically glimmered in the sunlight. Sokka simply pushed by him and turned his thoughts elsewhere.

Both siblings eventually made their way into the ship, getting several judgmental glares from the crew along the way.

“Who are they?” One whispered, or more offensively, “what are water tribe savages doing on our ship?”

Truly, the duo had been insulted in far worse ways, so they ignored such comments and continued on their way. 

Iroh eventually came back and greeted the siblings once again.

“Katara if you could come with me to get your new wardrobe, and Zuko if you could show Sokka to him and sister’s room, that would be wonderful.”

Blue eyes glance at one another in confusion.

“A new wardrobe?” Sokka questioned.

Just as Iroh was about to respond, his nephew cut him off.

“Unless you want a target on your head, you’ll wear our clothing. The rest of the fire nation won’t be as generous with you water tribe peasants as me and my uncle are.”

Sokka scoffed, “Trust me we know.”

Much to her brother’s mistrust, Katara went with Iroh to retrieve their clothing, while Sokka forced himself to follow the prince inside the ship to his room. The walk was silent, Zuko walking in front of Sokka particularly stiffly. His eyes fell on the teenager’s pale clenched hands. He wasn’t quite sure why the firebender was so angry, if anything he should be the frustrated one, considering he’d been consistently insulted

The prince eventually came to a stop in front of a metal door. His scarred side faced the other teen as he glared through the slit of his eye.

“This is you and your sister’s room. It’s across from mine so you two better be quiet when I’m meditating.”

Sokka spaced out for a moment and forgot to reply, until he noticed the prince was turned fully towards him and clenching his jaw angrily.

“Well?”

The blue eyed teen waved his hand carelessly in his face.

“Yeah yeah yeah whatever. Wouldn’t wanna disturb your beauty rest.”

The prince’s face morphed into offended and thinly contained rage. 

“It’s _not_ rest . It’s to practice breathing for fire bending.”

Sokka rolled his eyes and stared squarely at the firebender.

“What are you practicing for? Gonna burn down a forest or something.”

Once again, the area around them felt increasingly heated, and despite the dim lighting, Zuko’s eyes were glaring with fire. It was intimidating and strangely beautiful—for a guy at least.

Suddenly a finger was being jabbed into his chest and the water tribe boy could smell that warm cinnamony scent clearly once again. 

“What I do with my bending is none of your business,” he growled lowly. 

The prince’s tone made Sokka’s heart beat faster, and he wasn’t sure why. He ignored it by retaliating.

“It does if you’re using it to hurt innocent people.”

Zuko almost seemed struck by the assumption and removed his finger from the other boy’s chest.

“Listen  _Sokka_ , don’t act like you know anything about me, because you don’t. So either shut the hell up or you and your sister can walk your sorry asses to the North Pole. I could care less.”

If felt strange hearing his name spoken by the prince. It was better then being called a peasant anyway. 

Sokka scoffed and brushed past the firebender, opening the door to his new room.

“Ok whatever. We’ll be quiet,” he muttered quietly, “as long as you learn how to deal with your anger issues.” 

Heat burst into the prince’s face, and even as the other teen slammed his door in his face, he still yelled through it.

“I DO NOT HAVE ANGER ISSUES!”

“YES YOU DO!” 

“NO I-“

The prince stopped yelling at the other teenager when he finally noticed his uncle and Katara standing at the end of the hallway, a look of agitation on both their faces. 

He crossed his arms and gritted his teeth.

“ What ?”

“Are you done?” Iroh said rather impatiently.

Zuko angrily snapped his head towards the door of the water tribe warrior, before growling and stomping off to his room.

The door was slammed with a  Bam!

Katara and Iroh glanced at one another before she knocked on her brother’s door.

“Sokka, you in there?”

“No, jerkbender was just screaming at a door for nothing,” he replied sarcastically.

She heard feet shuffling inside the room and the door opened. His eyes fell on the clothing his sister was carrying.

He sneered as she held out a pair of rust red pants and a deep red shirt.

“Sokka come on, it’s just a change of wardrobe!” She explained.

He scoffed in disgust as he pushed the clothes away from him.

“I don’t care. We’re gonna look like fire nation with those on,” he growled,” I don’t want to be associated with them.”

Katara glanced over at Iroh, who got the hint and left respectfully. 

She turned back towards her brother and threw the bunched up pants and shirt into his chest. 

“I don’t like it either, but we also got to fit in if we don’t want to catch unnecessary attention.”

Sokka groaned. Katara was right. Like always.

He unbundled the clothing and stared at it for a bit. 

They were nothing special. They were particularly bland compared to the water tribe attire he was currently wearing. The aggressively red shirt had a v-cut neckline and mid length sleeves. The pants weren’t anything much either, aside from being a little baggy-looking. 

“Come on let’s get this over with,” Sokka said as he directed Katara to come into their new room. 

He closed the door and reluctantly began changing, while his sister did the same on the other side of the room. 

The sleeves on the shirt cut off just about at his elbows, and as he predicted, the legs of the pants were rather large on him. He resolved this by tucking the ends of his pants into his boots.

The only components of his original outfit that remained was his white necklace, his forearm wraps, and his knee-high brown boots. He placed his water tribe attire into his bag and glanced over at Katara, who had finished switching clothing.

The pants she wore were the same shade of red that Sokka’s pants were, and were baggy but tight against the ankle, where the leg stopped. She had switched her booties out for a pair of dainty black slippers that looked rather worn. 

She was now in the process of tying a knot at the end of her dark red shirt, which had short sleeves and a round neckline outlined by gold that cut off right at her collarbones. 

She ran her hands down her pants to smooth them out, then placed her hands on her hips.

“So...how do I look?” She asked cheerily.

Sokka looked her up and down quickly.

“Like a water tribe girl pretending to be from the fire nation,” he pointed at her hair loopies, “the hair doesn’t help.”

Katara looked up at the pinned strands of hair, before reluctantly agreeing with her brother and proceeded to take her hair out of its braid and loops. 

A vague memory on how to do a proper fire nation topknot popped into his head as he watched his sister’s dark hair come loose.

He probably learned from a random book he read or something.

He searched the room for a ribbon to hold her hair with, and eventually his eyes fell on a rather faded piece of fabric lying on top of one of the many boxes in the small room. 

“Here,” he said as he held the red ribbon, his tone lacking in his usual sarcasm, “I’ll fix up your hair.”

She complied and he pulled the top half of her hair into a knot, then tied it together with the ribbon. 

“There, now you look more like fire nation. Although that isn’t really a good thing,” he said with a slight grin  on his face. 

She smiled up at him, then pursed her lips at his hairstyle.

“Well if I can’t have my hair loopies, you can’t have your ponytail.”

He slammed his palm into his face irritatingly.

“First of all it’s a  _warrior’s wolftail_ , and second of all, the prince literally has the same look. I can play it off.”

“So you’ll say it’s a ponytail?”

A long silence followed.

“Fine.”

She chuckled victoriously and began to finish getting settled into what would be their new home for the time being, and her brother followed suit.

.......................................

The sun was high in the sky, and the prince stood on the balcony on the tower of the ship, breathing in and out, feeling the heat of the sun within him.

_In and out and in and out and-_

The quiet was interrupted by a shuffling noise behind him, and he swiftly turned around to face it.

It was that damn water tribe boy.

‘His name was Sokka right?’

Well whatever his name was, he was getting on the prince’s nerves. 

He had changed out of those awful blue colors though, from what the prince could see, and the red didn’t look too bad on him. In fact, the color fell against his brown complexion rather attractively—For a guy anyway. 

It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize how aggressively he was staring at the other boy, and he quickly began scowling.

“What are you doing here?”

Sokka blinked for a few moments before rocking his foot back and forth.

“I.....uhh....got a little lost?”

His awkwardness was contagious, almost to the point were Zuko wanted to laugh out loud at the stupidity of his response. Instead, the stoic-borderline-irritated expression stayed pressed on his face. 

He turned back around to face the ocean and shut his eyes closed, his eyebrows still furrowed downward. 

“Whatever,” he quietly growled, “just get out of here so I can meditate.” 

Sokka snorted mockingly and went to leave.

“If that’s what you want....jerkbender,” he almost whispered on his way out.”

Zuko’s eyes shot open and he gritted his teeth.

“Don’t call me that  _peasant_ .”

The water tribe boy had already left the proximity, but not without hearing the last comment. He was quickly taking note that the prince has a fiery temper, and he constantly insulted other people. Typical firebender.

Granted he hadn’t seen him actually use fire, but he was practically steaming most of the time so it was quite obvious what element he bent. 

Back outside, the young prince continued his breathing exercises, not allowing for the petty insults of the other boy to falter his breathes, or his sky blue eyes to shake his focus. 

For now, at least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me awhile to update, school’s kicking my ass :/ Please comment, I love hearing what u guys have to say :D


	6. Strange Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara and Sokka continue to get used to life on the ship, Zuko and Sokka continue to have awkwardly tension filled moments, and the siblings + Zuko have a close encounter with Zhao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the only thing to say is that there is just a bit of racism in this chapter. No slurs or anything, just people being dicks

The sun was setting over the horizon, creating all sorts of beautiful colors that sparkled over the sea.

Sokka stared up at the sunset and wiped his brow. If there was one benefit of being stuck on this sprit-forsaken boat, it was that the view was spectacular. 

He had been busying himself for most of the afternoon and evening with small chores around the ship—whether it be sweeping areas over and over again or scrubbing the eating areas. Anything to get his mind off the rather judgmental stares he received from the fellow crew inhabitants. 

He ignored the fact that his actual job was to clean the toilets because....eww. But he was sure the prince wouldn’t notice if he skipped one day. Besides, it was still his birthday. He wasn’t going to spend it scrubbing the excretion of fire nation scum.

He yawned and glanced at the darkening sunset one last time, before going inside to return to his room. 

When he returned to his room, he was surprised to see how much more organized and cozy it felt. Katara must have spent her afternoon fixing up the place. 

The room wasn’t large by any stretch of the imagination, as there was room for thetwo bunk beds on the right side of the wall, a desk with a chair on the opposite side, and a small dresser near the door. The wall directly in front of the doorway had a small open window that let in the limited light still left in the sky. 

It looked like his sister had removed the unnecessary boxes and junk out of the room, and dusted off the furniture. 

He walked over to the bed and pressed on the mattress with his hand. It wasn’t the least uncomfortable thing he’d sleep on, but he hated that the sheets were blood red. 

Katara suddenly peered into the doorway with an armful of items, to which she placed onto the desk.

“Oh hey Sokka. You probably noticed that I fixed the place up. What do you think?”

He glanced around the room once more, until his eyes landed on his sister. It looked like she had found a couple extra accessories, as she had matching red and gold bracelets on both of her wrists and a small brown pouch that strapped over her shoulder.

“Uhh,” he paused, “its great.”

His expression held a tinge of resentment, but also longing. Longing to be back at home in the South Pole where things felt familiar.

She put what looked like an oil lamp onto the desk, then walked over to her brother, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Hey I know this is a lot to get used to. Trust me, I hate that we have to be stuck with fire nation people. But I promise, we’ll be at the North Pole in no time and we can leave this all behind.”

He let out a sign and a small smile, before turning back to face the beds. 

“Let me guess, you already claimed the top bunk,” he asked playfully.

“You know it.”

They both laughed, and for a moment, it felt like they were kids again, without any trauma or prejudice or anger. 

Katara returned to the bundle of things she had placed on a desk, and grabbed what looked like a black pair of gloves. 

She held them up towards Sokka, smiling rather proudly.

“So I know your other gloves were getting a bit worn, so I found this other pair to replace them, kind of like a birthday gift.”

She bent a small amount of water from a cup that was on the desk and carefully used it to slice off the fingers of the gloves to replicate the design of his original pair. 

“I know it’s not much, but I hope you like it,” she said with a small smile.

He put them on his hands and wiggled his fingers around. 

“They’re perfect Katara, thanks.”

A thump against the doorway made the siblings turn. The prince stood there leaning against it with his arms crossed. Golden eyes pierced through the dimming light at the duo.

“My uncle told me to tell you two peasants that you can go get dinner whenever you want. Just only take one portion.”

Sokka curled his lip and straightened his back.

“Really, is peasant the only insult you got?”

He steadied his glare before scoffing.

“I could call you worse, you’re lucky I don’t.”

The prince seemed tired, Sokka took note of. His features weren’t as tense as usual and his tone less caustic. It was almost disconcerting to see him not bubbling over with rage. 

Zuko left the room before Sokka could dwell on it much, and Katara rolled her eyes and followed after him, to which he reluctantly did as well. 

The dining area was quite empty by the time they reached it, and honestly, the food didn’t look all that promising. 

The prince turned and angrily flung his arm at the room.

“Enjoy your dinner,” he gritted sarcastically before making his way to the exit.

“Prince Zuko, show your guests some hospitality. Eat dinner with them,” Iroh’s voice called from across the room.

Zuko scrunched his nose, almost with disgust, and looked like he was about to pop off with anger.

Sokka scoffed “If his highness doesn’t want to, I really don’t care.”

Zuko noticed the other teenager’s apparent satisfaction at this, so he stubbornly sat his ass down on one of the seats by the table.

“Actually,” he said with an uncharacteristically devious expression, “I’m feeling quite hungry.”

Sokka’s eye twitched with frustration, but ultimately followed suit with his sister when she sat down. 

Zuko shot a glare at him from across the table, which Sokka quickly returned.

Katara, who was quite hungry, dove right in, while Sokka stared suspiciously at the plate in front of him.

Katara nudged him “come on Sokka, you’ll literally eat anything and now you decide you’re not hungry?”

“It’s not that I’m not hungry,” he picked at it, then lowered his tone, “they could have poisoned it or something.”

“If we wanted to kill you, trust me, we already would have by now,” the prince replied, angry at the thinly concealed comment. 

Sokka looked back at the plate then back at the frowning firebender, then back at the plate. The smell made his stomach growl, so ultimately he gave in and took a bite. 

Silence filled the room, and Sokka’s chewing was practically echoing off the walls. 

Katara broke the new silence, “So...today is actually Sokka’s birthday.”

“ Katara, ” Her brother gritted.

“Oh really,” Iroh replied with a smile, “may I ask how old you are turning today?”

“Fifteen,” Sokka grumbled quietly.

“Ah,” Iroh placed a hand on Zuko’s shoulder “you are the same age as my nephew.”

Sokka returned his eyes to the prince, who looked quite upset. 

He couldn’t believe that he somehow was the same age as him. The prince seemed so much older then him, perhaps it was because he was frowning all the time. 

It was strange. He was.....a kid. Just like him and Katara. It made him strangely relatable in a human fashion.

Zuko shrugged his uncle’s hand off, “I’ll be sixteen in December, so I’m older then him uncle.” 

Katara perked up, “My birthday is in December too! I’ll be turning fourteen.”

Zuko didn’t seem to care much about the younger girl’s statement, just picked at his fingers. 

Cautiously Sokka continued eating, trying not to gag on the unpleasant flavor of the food. He had already decided that he hated ship food. 

The prince continued to fiddle with his fingers, occasionally glancing up at the siblings when he got bored

He quickly stood up, “I’m going back to my room. Don’t bother me.”

He retreated from the dining area without another word, leaving his uncle in frustration.

“You must mind my nephew, he has been through much and has not yet learned how to properly express his emotions,” Iroh explained.

Sokka simply huffed and picked at his food once more, eventually standing up and marching on to his own room. 

When he slammed down onto his bed, he buried his face in his pillow and yelled. Loudly. 

How in the hell was he supposed to stay on this ship with these damn firebenders for spirts know how long? 

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud thumping noise that sounded like it came from down the hallway. He grumbled at first, then pressed the pillow against his ears. When the sound did not relent, he shot out of bed and stomped out of his room. 

The sound, he realized, was coming from the prince’s room. He by all means did not want to interact with the firebender, but whatever he was doing in there was driving him insane.

He reluctantly flung the door open. 

“What are you doing in—“

He cut himself off when he noticed that the prince was shirtless, in a firebending stance, from what Sokka could tell, which had the other teen’s arm in a flexing position. 

Sokka felt heat flood to his face as he took in the muscles of the firebender. They were subtle yet defined, and the thin layer of sweat that lay on his chest made him almost glow in the dim firelight. The water tribe warrior finally peeled his eyes away when the prince practically shot fire at him. Zuko shouted at him.

“What in Agni’s name do you want??”

The blush hadn’t removed itself from his face quite yet, and he stuttered.

“I—uh....”

Zuko threw his hands up, settling them on his hips. Sokka tried to ignore the way his arm muscles flexed as he did so.

“Y-you were being loud...I-uh-just wanted to see what you were....doing.”

His half curious tone quelled the prince’s anger slightly, but he turned away, his ponytail whipping beside him, and glared at the flaming candles.

“I was just firebending,” he said in a unusually soft manner.

Sokka stared at him wide eyed for another moment, backing away.

“Oh,” he mumbled, not quite sure what to say. 

This moment was silent, and dare he say, with the glow of the candles and the firebender’s half state of undress, strangely intimate. Zuko must have recognized this vulnerability and tensed almost immediately.

“Well I’m not going to be more quiet,” he leaned forward, “Need I remind you that this is  my ship. Now get out of my room!”

Sokka felt no want to continue his presence with the prince, so he quietly turned around and returned to his room without a word. 

When he closed the door once more, he slid down to the floor. His skin felt sweaty, and he could not understand why his heart was beating so fast. Truly it was perhaps just a fear of the prince he was feeling. It wasn’t that the interaction made Sokka feel anything other then that. After all, what else was there to feel? Zuko was a firebender. And a boy. 

His nerves were probably just all over the place. This whole situation was a mess, and he didn’t have room to try and figure out his jumbled emotions just yet.

He was just confused. 

Very confused.

...................................................

The next morning was uneventful as usual, with nothing more to do then for the prince to practice his firebending katas and look off into the wide empty expanse of the sea.

He noticed Sokka sweeping once more on the deck of the ship, quite idly to put it. 

The other teenager annoyed the everliving crap out of him, but he couldn’t deny that he had made his heart pump in a strange in a strange way when he had burst into his room and stared at him. Most likely, it was simply just his nerves mixed with his anger, and that was it. 

The prince averted his gaze when Sokka turned his head upward, although the blue eyed warrior still noticed him. It seems however, Sokka doesn’t move to confront him, perhaps because he himself also still felt rather awkward about their encounter last night. 

Katara then walked onto deck to break the tension, an infuriatingly enthusiastic expression painted on her face.

“Good morning Prince Zuko,” the younger girl said with a twinge of snark to it.

He grumbled in reply: he really was not in the mood to deal with two terrifically annoying water tribe peasants.

The prince watched the siblings converse from afar, finding his glare drifting to the boy, until he would catch himself and look away. 

Lost deep in thought, he didn’t even notice Lieutenant Jee standing next to him, saying his name.

“Prince Zuko?”

He twitched, surprised by the intrusion of the older man.

“What?” He said rather harshly.

The prince could sense a hint of resentment in Jee’s eyes at the boy’s tone, but he continued.

“I believe Commander Zhao is requesting a meeting on your ship.”

He must have been incredibly deep in thought staring at the water tribe siblings to not have noticed the ship that had pulled up behind him.

Zuko scoffed loudly, quiet irritated at the sudden request.

“Didn’t he just come on board the other day? What does he want?”

An incredibly smug voice came from behind him.

“I’m so glad you asked Prince Zuko. And that wasn’t a request  Lieutenant . That was an order.”

Jee kept a stiff posture, but Zuko could tell there was a deep hatred for Zhao buried deep inside of him. He bowed quickly and left the prince with the other man.

The older firebender stepped onto the ship, his signature grin plastered on his face. Zhao continued to smile as he spoke

“I would like to have a private conversation with you Prince Zuko. On certain important matters.”

He rolled his eyes, and as usual, he was not in the mood to deal with Zhao’s bullshit.

“Alright,” he growled, “it’s the two of us. Say whatever it is you want to say.”

The commander’s smile faltered, and he stepped closer to the prince, who clenched up uncomfortably.

The older man’s voice was low. 

“I meant somewhere a little bit....less public.”

Unfortunately for the prince, he wasn’t sure what the other firebender was trying to get at, and instead took a step back and crossed his arms.

He huffed “I’m fine where we are. Now hurry up or I’m kicking you off my ship.” 

The commander didn’t look pleased at the comment, his eyes turning rather dark and his grin molding into a frown.

He looked like he was about to say some degrading insult, but instead the older man’s eyes became curious and he stared at something past Zuko’s shoulder. 

It was Katara and Sokka, both doing a very poor job of pretending not to listen to their conversation by looking preoccupied, and they were failing miserably.

Zhao took a step forward and stared hard at the siblings.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen these two on your ship before,” he questioned.

The duo finally realized they were being analyzed, and tried subtly to go back inside the ship. Zuko wanted to scream in frustration at their obviousness. 

“Uhhh...they’re....uh....new here,” the prince stuttered out. He wanted to slap himself for being such an incredibly bad liar. 

Zhao’s grin returned when he saw the slight panic in the teenager’s eyes, and he walked over to the siblings from across the ship, determined to find something to nag the prince about.

Zuko took a deep breath and followed quickly behind the commander. He heard the older man greet the two.

“As a commander of these waters, it is my duty to know who sails on them.” He took a pause, staring intently at the two terrified teenagers, who looked like they were about to book it out of there. He continued, his tone suspicious “I don’t believe I have ever seen either of you two before.”

To Sokka and Katara’s surprise, Zuko quickly chimed in, coming up with some bullshit excuse.

“They’re from the colonies.”

Zhao shot him an angered glance, before squinting back at the siblings. 

He then stood up straight and smirked.

“Well that explains those ghastly blue eyes. And that dreadfully dark skin,” he said with a hint of disgust, “they almost look like those water tribe savages.” 

Katara’s face lit up with rage, and the only reason she didn’t attack him was because her brother put an arm in front of her. He was very upset by the comments as well, but he appeared to have a clearer head in making sure they stayed out of trouble.

Sokka fiercely replied to the older firebender “well we do have some ancestry with the water tribe, being from the colonies and all, so we’d appreciate you not calling them or us savages.”

Zuko was genuinely impressed by his quick and fearless response, especially against someone as imposing as Zhao. It was actually...kind of incredible.

Zhao snarled back at the boy, his anger provoked, “and just _what_ is your name?” 

Sokka’s eyes widened as he scaled his brain for a response.

“I’m...uh.”

Once again Zuko leaped into the conversation.

“He’s usually pretty scatter brained Commander. His name is Lee.”

Sokka looked momentarily irritated at the insult, but also slightly grateful.

“And I’m Mizu,” Katara said, luckily before he questioned her. 

Zhao scoffed, clearly not buying it but also realizing there was no other way to prove their true identities, so he turned back to the prince.

“I think I’ve seen enough Prince Zuko. It seems the inhabitants of your ship are just as...lowly as usual.”

He looked up in confusion.

“Didn’t you come here for a meeting?”

The tone the older man took was almost jovial, which for Zhao, was quiet disturbing. He placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“I think I can wait until the next time we see each other Prince Zuko. You seem to have your hands full with these fools.”

Zuko didn’t like how _kind_ he sounded, and how his hand lingered on him. He was about to smack it off until the man removed it voluntarily.

Zhao bowed swiftly as a farewell, not turning to leave before he shot both the siblings a poisonous glare.

Sokka waited until the commander was on his own ship to break the silence.

“Spirits, who is that asshole? He’s bad even for fire nation standards.”

Zuko sneered as he explained “he’s Commander Zhao, and for your information, everyone in the fire nation knows he’s a piece of shit.”

Sokka shrugged his shoulders “well wouldn’t you know, the murderous imperialists have standards.”

Zuko became quickly offended by the comment.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly as I meant it to,” the water tribe warrior said as he went to go inside.

But the prince, getting increasingly angry, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, preventing him from leaving.

“I didn’t have to help you guys back there with Zhao. And I didn’t hear a single thank you.”

Sokka laughed sarcastically.

“Thank you your highness for saving me! I’m forever in debt to you,” his tone became more serious, “And if you didn’t want to help us, then why did you?”

Shocked gold eyes stared wide into angry blue ones, and Zuko actually contemplated the question.

He didn’t know the answer. All he knew was that it was almost instinctive to protect the duo from someone like Zhao. Like something engraved into him from a young age, but was buried underneath years of cruelty. Of years of trying to be the person his father wanted him to be, and not who his mother raised. 

He was out of words, and he could have sworn he saw Sokka’s eyes soften when his vulnerability was clear, but the blue eyed teenager stomped off instead before Zuko could even think of what to say.

Katara stood there, seemingly not exactly sure what to do, so she picked the broom back up and swept back and forth, before stopping.

“Thank you, for helping us with Zhao. It still doesn’t excuse anything, but thanks.”

He nodded at her in reply, unsure how to reply. She continued what she was doing, and Zuko quickly left, not wanting to be stuck in the awkward silence with her.

He hated that Sokka had now seen him slip up multiple times, and that he had seen him as vulnerable or soft. Or in his father’s words, weak. 

Pathetic. 

Useless.

He had been too kind today, especially with helping the siblings. With not screaming in Sokka’s face when he questioned his motives behind aiding them, or when he burst into his room when he was practicing. He needed to be cruel. To treat Sokka as a subordinate below him.

But every time he saw those blue eyes, he couldn’t help but feel his cold heart beat just a little faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, Mizu means water in Japanese, which makes sense for Katara. Also, I know that the colonies are just firenation and the earth kingdom, but I kinda figured at some point some water tribe people would end up in the mix there, kinda like a mixing pot. I hope y’all enjoyed, feel free to comment :D


	7. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions seem to reach a peak on the ship with the water tribe siblings and the crew members

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible trigger warnings: lots of derogatory language used against the water tribe. Also attempted murder

For the rest of the week, the water tribe siblings and the prince found themselves distanced, mostly due to their involvement in their own chores and duties. At most Katara and Sokka would pass the firebender in the hall and he’d pass them a glance, but no words were exchanged.

One night, Katara walked outside of the ship, onto the lightly soaked deck, breathing in the night air. The moon was bright in the sky tonight, and she could feel the power of it deep inside her chi. 

The ocean around her crashed against the side of the ship, and the air was harsh and moist, telling of a future storm.

She lifted her arms and moved the ocean water, gliding it around her carefully. She was a beginner still with her movements, and her only real practice in the past six months was moving the water around her casually. Hopefully that would change once she reached the North Pole with Sokka and found a master.

“Katara, what are you doing?!”

The voice behind her startled her, and she yelped as she dropped the water onto the deck with a splash. 

She was relieved to see it was her brother behind her, although he did look rather upset.

“Spirits Sokka you scared me.”

His angry blue eyes gleamed in the moonlight

“Well you need to be more careful,” he lowered his voice “do you think the people on this ship would be happy if they found out you were a water bender? Especially a water bender from where they thought were extinct?”

She rolled her eyes “ok ok, I’ll try and be more careful next time.” 

The two then returned inside together, and were shortly met by Iroh, who smiled warmly at the siblings. 

“I hope you two are adjusting well to ship life, but I must warn you, it looks like there is a summer storm coming up, so I’d advise you to stay inside the ship until it passes.”

Sokka snorted in reply “trust me, we’ve dealt with some bad weather in the past, I think we know how to—“

The ship jolted violently, cutting off the rest of Sokka’s sentence. Outside, they could hear the crash of ocean waves slap harshly against the side of the vessel. 

The storm was already beginning.

The fire in the lamps lighting the room flickered for a moment, until they stabilized once the ship had stilled. 

Iroh turned back to Sokka with a genuine look of concern.

“I understand that the South Pole does have extreme weather, but it is very different from the sea, especially in the summer. It can be very dangerous, and I wouldn’t want either of you to be swept overboard.” 

Sokka sighed irritatingly, then exchanged a glance with his sister, who replied reluctantly. 

“I guess we could find some things to do inside.”

Dying didn’t sound that interesting, so Katara and Sokka stayed inside the ship, eventually separating when Katara wanted to return to their room. 

After wandering for about a half hour, opening door after door, Sokka found his way into a room that seemed interesting. Well interesting to him was an understatement. The room was filled with all sorts of books placed onto various shelves, about history and mathematics and bending and all of the above. He hadn’t read a book in spirits knows how long, which meant he practically squealed when he saw the assortment. 

He picked up a small novel with a worn greenish color—so worn it almost seemed like it had been held a thousand times before him. 

“Basics of sword fighting,” he curiously read off the front of it. Sounds interesting.

He carefully opened the book, dust falling off the pages as he did so. 

Hundreds of forms were laid out on the pages, forms he didn’t even know existed.

“Wow,” he said out loud in wonder.

A frustrated groan came from up above him, a familiar one. Sokka jerked in surprise, then looked up one of the higher shelves where the prince sat in an empty row, an angry scowl directed at him. 

“Oh great, now you found the library.” The firebender growled. 

Sokka ignored his comment, instead smirking up at the other teenager

“I didn’t take you for someone who likes to read.”

Zuko crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.

“I don’t come here to  _read_ , ” he replied, then, almost softly, “I come here because....it’s quiet.” 

Sokka merely looked up at Zuko, a bit taken back by the lack of aggression in the last comment. It was another strange moment of vulnerability that the prince showed that was making it harder and harder for the water tribe warrior to hate him.

But, like usual, the prince’s face hardened once more when the silence got too loud.

He nodded at the book Sokka still held, 

“Didn’t think the guy who likes to throw projectiles at people would be interested in swords.”

“It’s called a boomerang,” he shot back defensively, “and I don’t really know shit about swords, I just like reading.”

Zuko quirked his eyebrow, squinting his eyes to see the book Sokka held.

“Basics of swordbending?” He scoffed.

Sokka flung his arms angrily in reply.

“I just said I don’t know shit about swords. What do you want me to do, read ‘sword fighting for experts?’”

Zuko rolled his eyes and slid down the ladder, tapping a finger on the novel in Sokka’s hands. 

“I meant because it’s insanely boring. Trust me, I’ve read that book a thousand times. If you actually like reading...” he paused, scanning the shelves quickly, then grabbed a reddish book, one a bit thicker then “basics of sword fighting.” 

“....then you should read this.” 

Sokka looked at the book, then the prince, then back at the book before grabbing it.

“The history of sword fighting in the four nations,” he read off the front. 

He looked back up at the firebender, a surprisingly playful expression on his face,

“And here I thought you didn’t like to read.”

He turned to stare at the books on the shelves again as he tapped his fingers against his leg,

“I really don’t. Swords are the only things that make reading worth it.”

Sokka laughed sarcastically in reply

“Wow, I didn’t know the fire nation prince had such a passion for sword fighting. Aren’t you supposed to like.....hate everything but fire?”

“Sure,” he replied, annoyance blatant in his tone. 

“Hm.”

The two stood quietly, staring at the ground, the only sound filling the room being the rain hitting the ship windows. 

“I need to go command the ship,” the prince said suddenly, rather awkwardly and stiffly. 

“Uh ok,” Sokka replied as the firebender rushed out of the room. 

He shook his head and set his sights back on the text he was clutching in his hands. It was a beautiful work, with thin gold paint outlining the front, and designs of each of the symbols of the four nations in the corners. He opened to the first page, and written in small manuscript, was a note. He narrowed his eyes to read it.

‘ _To Zuko, my talented student. Learning from different sources is the key to becoming the best you can be. I trust that this volume will help you to do so._

_-Sifu Piandao_ ’

He didn’t know who Piandao was, but obviously he cared about Zuko, enough to gift him this incredible book. The book he was now....kinda gifted? He wasn’t sure, but he finally sat down and began reading, the rain drops pattering against the windows and the waves crashing beneath him. Finally, some peace.

......................................................

Zuko made his way to the bow of the ship to consult with the other officers on the ship. Well, consult was a strong word. More like him basically screaming over them and no one listening. 

The brewing storm outside caused the ship to jerk rather suddenly, to which the prince paused, then continued walking.

By the time he made it to the meeting area, all the other men were already there. 

He was late. He was never supposed to be late—

_‘a hot hand gripped his small shoulder tightly, and a voice growled “do not ever be late again_ _Prince Zuko_.”

He shook off the memory and noticed all eyes on him. 

He could have prevented his tardiness if he hadn’t been conversing with the other boy. Just add it to the list of failures that made him a complete embarrassment to his nation.

“What are you looking at?” He yelled suddenly, “this ship isn’t going to sail itself.” 

The crew was more then used to the prince’s incessant yelling, so they merely grumbled and turned to discuss among themselves. 

Their dismissal of him would have hurt if he actually cared for what they thought of him, and  _ he  most certainly did not _ . Well, not anymore at least. He stopped crying himself to sleep over what his shipmates thought of him at least two years ago. Being cold and detached at this point was a survival mechanism. 

A safety precaution.

It does sometimes still hurt, but now, it makes him want to grind his teeth in rage rather then sob like a child. 

His uncle, like usual, was the only one that seemed to still care for his presence. 

“Prince Zuko, is everything alright?” The older man asked in a concerned tone.

The teenager sighed exasperatedly and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“What do you think?”

Iroh looked like he was about to share some wise words of comfort, but Zuko brushed him aside. 

“Hey,” he yells once’s more, “did you guys forget who commands this ship!”

The crew turned once more to face him, looks of irritation and malice apparent. They quietly murmured to one another.

“Who does he think he is,” he heard one say, or “yeah, maybe we _do_ forget he’s the commander.” 

He felt himself fume with rage, smoke coming out of his mouth and nose, and he wants to scream became no one listens to him and no one cares and no one respects him and—

He would have yelled in anger to hide his vulnerability, but then he heard a commotion outside, one that was getting closer and closer to the door.

..............................................

Life on the ship was boring enough, but now that they had to only stay  inside  the ship, made it even worse.

Katara sat alone in their room for a good ten minutes, merely staring up at the ceiling in boredom. 

She ran her fingers over her neck expecting to feel the smooth groves of her mother’s necklace, then realized she wasn’t wearing it; It was stuffed away with all the rest of her water tribe attire. 

The last remnants of home. Spirits she missed it. She missed it so much.

She felt tears prickle her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and sat up, looking for some water to bend.

Whenever everything hurt just a bit too much, she would waterbend. Obviously she wasn’t all that advanced, but it was almost therapeutic. Healing.

‘ _My little waterbender_.’

“Screw it,” she murmured to herself, finally getting up to leave the metal box.

Once she made it down the hallway, she looked around each corner quickly, then opened the door to go outside. 

Well, the weather had certainly changed quiet drastically. The sky was a dark grey, the waves an angry shade of blue, and lithe sprinkles of rain were now falling from the sky.

She bent some of the droplets, forming a small roof above her head. Giggling, she walked around the deck and widened the shield. 

It was almost a perfect moment, almost-

A sound behind her startled her, causing her to quickly drop the water on the deck.

There was a man at the door, who’s expression was one of surprise and cruel malice. She instantly recognized him, Tai. He was one of the healers on the ship, and he constantly glared viciously at her and Sokka and murmured hateful words underneath his breath. 

No one else was out here, so that must mean he purposely followed her. Which means he had to have seen her waterbend.

_Shit_ .

His face molded into a ugly grin, it reminded her of that side-burned creep that had come onto the ship the other week. Crap crap crap she wished she had listened to Sokka and been more careful.

“Well well,” he finally spoke, “of course the little savage is a waterbender too.”

“Please,” she hated the pathetic tone of her voice, “don’t tell anyone.”

His face morphed into a very ugly grimace, one so full of vengeance that she almost shivered at it.

“And why the fuck would I do that?” He questioned, his face red and voice clenched.

He reached forward and snatched her wrist tightly.

“Water Tribe barbarians killed my brother and my  son .” 

She was speechless, trying to force the words out. To tell him that he had no right to hold the same kind of bitterness she did. His dead loved ones were probably soldiers trying to invade innocent villagers, not regular citizens like her mother was.

“Let me go!,” she finally said as she desperately tried to twist out of his iron grip.

Instead, he clenched tighter and lit a flame in his palm, one that was the shape of a blade.

“How about I cleanse the world of another nuisance. An eye for an eye.”

The fire blade came closer and closer to her neck, and in her fight or flight reflex, she quickly bent water to dose the flame, and effectively caused him to let go.

She bolted so fast that he didn’t have time to even try to grab her again, but even as she made it inside, she could still hear him chasing after her. Her heart pounded in her chest. She could feel her blood in her head, heating. 

No no Tui and La this wouldn’t be the day she died please please—

She wasn’t sure where Sokka was, but she was running towards wherever at this point, just as far away as possible.

Her lungs burned, and she realized that she was going to loose this race. Oh spirits oh spirits—

She grabbed the handle of the next door she saw at the end of the hall, not before Tai grabbed her wrist once more and attempted to drag her away.

She heard voices inside the door, many not quite familiar ones, and Iroh’s stood out. He was fire nation, but from what she gathered, he wouldn’t let her be murdered. After all, he was the one that offered her passage on the ship in the first place 

So she screamed.

Loudly.

................................................

Sokka had gotten deeply invested in the book Zuko had given him, until he heard a bloodcurdling scream.

Katara?

His heart dropped to his stomach, and he jumped out of the library space.

“Katara!” He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Thank to years of tracking and hunting, his depth perception was above average, so he was able to find where Katara had screamed from fast.

When he found her, there was a man there, fire in his hand, face contorted with rage. He was sure Katara had probably kicked or slapped or stomped on his foot or something, considering she was in a fighting stance.

The door she was standing in front of what now open, and the prince was standing there, a look of shock on his face similar to Sokka’s. Getting over the momentary distraction, he straightened his back and growled at the older man. 

“Get away from my sister !”

............................................

Zuko stood still, deeply confused at the scene before him. The three people he was staring at looked like they wanted to kill one another. The tension was permeable.

Until Sokka cut the silence with his  _get away from sister_.  It was kinda badass honestly. A non bender standing up against a bender to defend someone he cares about. He shook his head ‘ _focus Zuko_.’

“What is going on here?!” He finally questioned.

“Your healer,” Katara angrily pointed a finger at the man in front of her, still panting from their chase, “just tried to murder me!”

Tai took a step forward, causing the younger girl to fearfully take a step back, and Sokka looked about ready to pounce on the man.

The man responded aggressively.

“That—that  _rat_ is a waterbender. I had every right to try and end her lowly existence.”

Zuko’s eyes widened at the words, and he turned to face Katara.

“You’re a waterbender?” 

Her eyes seemed to almost immediately fill with tears as she silently nodded. He looked in between her, then Tai, then ended on Sokka, who was a mixture of many indistinguishable emotions. But if one was sure, it was one that he shared with his sister.

Both he and Katara had _fear_ in their eyes.

If he were anything like how his father wanted him to be, that would bring him joy. Good, they should be afraid. This was his ship and they had willfully omitted the truth, and should face the coincidences for it.

But he didn’t feel that. Instead he felt sick at their fear. Someone had tried to kill one of them because of the element they bent. That lacked honor in so many ways, and that didn’t represent what his nation was supposed to stand for. Murder wasn’t by any means ok, and especially not in this situation or context.

“Stand down Tai,” the prince finally spoke sternly.

The older man looked enraged at the comment.

“You’re telling me to stand down!? They lied to us! I’m merely teaching them a lesson!” 

‘ _Suffering will be your teacher_ .’

The man’s hands were still hot, Zuko could feel it, and he trembled. He instinctively stood in between the siblings and Tai, in case he decided to leap and burn them. 

“There is no honor in this lesson,” Zuko growled. 

The seething man leaned into his space, and Zuko fought to keep from shaking.

“What do _you_ know of honor, Prince Zuko?”

His good eye twitched at that. How dare he—

“Get off my ship,” the prince said blankly, his anger barely being contained.

Tai looked genuinely surprised at the boy’s order, then leaned back.

“You can’t possibly—“

“Yes I can. I will not allow dishonorable brutes onto my ship. So get off.  _Now_ .”

The healer blinked his hazel eyes a few times in amazement, then threw his hands up. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Katara flinch. 

Tai seemed to want to throw an insult at the young prince, but decided with stomping down the hall, not before sneering.

“Whatever. It’s not like I want to live on a ship with you traitors.”

Zuko ignored him, instead turning back to the room full of the clearly stunned crew members.

“If you agree with his actions, then you are free to join him.”

The room stood still for a few moments, until about four other men walked out the door, glared at Sokka and Katara, and followed Tai. 

Zuko sighed and addressed his lieutenant, “Jee, set sail for the next earth kingdom port, we need somewhere to drop those dirt eaters off at.”

Jee seemed to think for a moment, then tapped his fingers against the metal of the ship.

“I’m afraid that won’t be for another couple days because of the storm.”

Zuko groaned in frustration. 

“What if he tries to kill me again?” A small voice behind him asked.

Katara was now poorly holding in tears, and spirits she looked terrified, despite Sokka’s comforting hand on her back. He almost completely forgot about the fact that she had left out the important detail that  _she was a waterbender_ , mostly because her big eyes reminded him all too much of another thirteen year old. 

“I-“ he looked at some of the guards, then motioned for them to leave the room.

“Go follow the men that just left and make sure they stay away from these two,” he ordered.

They nodded in compliance and left, leaving the room in silence. Not even a whisper was spoken between the remaining crew members. 

“Do we have to leave now because I’m a waterbender?” Katara asked, causing many a head to perk up.

All eyes were all on Zuko now, awaiting a response. He merely rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. We have more things to worry about other then you being able to bend water.” 

Neither sibling said anything, just nodded in response. 

However, as the two turned to leave, Sokka mouthed at Zuko

“ _Thank you_ .”

His chest tightened at that, and suddenly everything felt very hot. He softened his expression as a response, unable to do anything else, and breathed a sigh of relief. 

He was glad he did the right thing, even if his only reward was a pretty boy breathing words of gratitude to him.

..............................................

It was getting late into the night, and Sokka had made sure Katara was safe in their room, asleep, before slipping out. 

He found himself in front of the prince’s door, unsure what to do next. He decided upon lightly knocking, hoping he wasn’t waking up the firebender.

To his surprise, Zuko opened the door, and he didn’t look angry or upset. Actually, he looked rather concerned.

“Is everything alright? It’s late.” 

Sokka stuttered for a moment, unsure what words he wanted to speak. Zuko just stared at him, looking more tired than irritated. It was strange, seeing his face so free of its usual tightness, and the fire gently lit his face and his golden eyes. He actually looked like a kid, just like him. 

“I—thank you for today. I know I kind of already said it earlier but I wanted it to be more real, you know?” 

The firebender fluttered his eyes, then stared at the ground and ground his heel.

“No need to thank me, I was just doing the right thing.”

“Well I can’t say I’ve known many firebenders who didn’t jump onto the idea or killing or capturing me or my sister, so today kind of threw me for a loop.”

Zuko nodded in agreement.

“Trust me, today most definitely threw me for a loop.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

The fire crackled in the background comfortably, before Sokka shifted away from the doorway.

“Well, have a good night.”

Zuko stammered in reply.

“You too, uh, stay safe.”

As Sokka returned to his room, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was supposed to despise the prince, afterall, he was a firebender, and he was on the other side of the war.

But Zuko wasn’t like other firebenders. Any other firebender would have thrown him off the ship like they were nothing. Instead, he made an effort to make sure they were protected and safe.

So if Sokka was supposed to hate him, he was making it damn hard to do so. 

......................................

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been awhile since I updated! Life has been pretty rough but I finally grinded out the last part of this chapter last night. Hope u guys enjoy! Feel free to comment :)


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